Atlanta United will face the New York Red Bulls on Sunday in what could be a preview of their first-round playoff matchup.
The Five Stripes (15-9-8) are in third place in the MLS Eastern Conference with two games remaining. They trail second-place NYCFC by three points. The Red Bulls (13-12-7) are in sixth, also with two games remaining. As it happens, the third seed will face the sixth seed in a one-game, winner-moves-on playoff matchup Oct. 25 or Oct. 26.
Atlanta United will follow that with what will be a historic game against Toronto at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Toronto already has secured the Supporter’s Shield, given to the team that finishes with the most points, and could be trying to set a record for points when the teams meet in front of a record crowd of more than 70,000 on Oct. 22.
It won’t be the easiest two-game stretch, but it’s good preparation for the playoffs.
“If you want to achieve important things then you have to play everybody,” midfielder Carlos Carmona said. “I think the regular season will be different than the playoffs. For us, we are still eyeing that second seed as our goal. We want to finish high. These next two games are important for us against two good teams.”
The two teams haven’t faced each other since the Red Bulls defeated Atlanta United 2-1 in the team’s inaugural game. The Five Stripes took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by Yamil Asad. New York rallied with two goals in the final 14 minutes to ruin the night for the more than 55,000 that came to Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Captain Michael Parkhurst said Atlanta United is much different now than it was then. The players and coaching staff had been together less than two months before that season-opening game played March 5.
Atlanta United has gone on to score the second-most goals (68) in MLS and has the second-biggest goal difference (plus-30). Toronto leads both categories (71 and plus-36).
“We’ve figured out how we want to play offensively and defensively,” Parkhurst said. “We’ve figured out what Tata (manager Gerardo Martino) wants from us and how to win games. That’s important. Week 1 we didn’t know how to close that game out. Hopefully if we have that same opportunity on Sunday we can show that we’ve matured and can close it out.”
The Red Bulls aren’t the same team either. Coach Jesse Marsch gradually has changed the formation to accommodate the talent, led by Bradley Wright-Phillips, who leads the team with 17 goals, and Sacha Kljestan, who leads the league with 17 assists.
Everything seemed to be working well during a four-game winning streak in July. But the team has just two wins in 11 games since, which put it in danger of missing the playoffs. It clinched a postseason place with a 3-0 win against Vancouver on Oct. 7.
“I compare the Red Bulls to Red Bulls (teams) in Germany or Austria,” Atlanta United midfielder Kevin Kratz said. “Same style. High press. It’s going to be a tough game.”
If Atlanta United can take at least four points in the final two games it will secure a playoff game at home, where it is 11-3-2 overall, including 5-1-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“If you can go on the road and grind out tough results it’s an advantage, especially with the way we are playing at home,” Atlanta United midfielder Julian Gressel said. “Teams don’t want to play us at home.”
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